Blanche of Castile

Blanche of Castile (4 March 1188-27 November 1252) was Queen Consort of France from 14 July 1223 to November 1226 with King Louis VIII of France.

Biography
Blanche was born on 4 March 1188 in Palencia, Castile, the daughter of King Alfonso VIII of Castile and Eleanor of England. Her sister Urraca of Castile, Queen of Portugal was initially intended to marry Louis VIII of France, but her grandmother Eleanor of Aquitaine decided that Blanche's personality was more fit for a Queen of France. On 21 May 1200, she married King Louis VIII, and her English descent through Eleanor led to her husband acquiring a claim on the throne of England during the Second Barons' War. Her husband died in 1226, and Blanche became the regent for her son Louis IX of France. Blanche had to fight against rebellious nobles in addition to Henry III of England, and in 1229 she forced the Cathars to surrender at the end of the Albigensian Crusade. For the rest of her life, she was a major influence in her son's life, and only her death in 1252 would end her regency.